188: Chapter 188 The Terrifying Witch...The Mysterious Sky Orchid

The countdown ticked down rapidly.

[00:20]

[Dragon Nation Team: 526]

[00:15]

[Dragon Nation Team: 571]

[00:10]

[Dragon Nation Team: 602]

The entire audience had already stood up.

The live stream chat was completely exploding.

[Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!]

[What kind of speed is this?!]

[He killed over a hundred of them in just over ten seconds by himself?]

[Is this really the Meridian Opening Realm?]

[Director Zhao: My puppets!]

The final three seconds.

Lu Cheng paused in the center of the arena, his right fist punching through the chest of the last newly spawned Source Energy Puppet.

Bang!

The crystal core shattered.

The countdown hit zero.

The numbers on the big screen froze.

[Dragon Nation Team: 634]

The entire arena fell silent for a split second.

Then, cheers erupted like a tsunami.

Sister Bai's voice was noticeably raised.

"Six hundred and thirty-four!"

"The final score for the Dragon Nation Team is six hundred and thirty-four!"

"In the last thirty seconds, contestant Lu Cheng increased the kill count from over four hundred and seventy to six hundred and thirty-four!"

"This is the highest score in the first exhibition match so far!"

In the Nordic representative area.

The smile on Elsa's face vanished.

Reinhardt slowly exhaled.

"I told you."

"He is dangerous."

In the center of the arena.

The dragon scales on Lu Cheng's body slowly receded.

Then, his body swayed.

The next second, he fell backward very naturally.

"Oops."

"That was too much exertion."

His tone was weakly perfunctory.

But his movements were standard, as if he had rehearsed it long ago.

Tang Zhiwei rushed over almost immediately.

She reached out to support Lu Cheng, but took the opportunity to press her whole body against him.

Her soft body leaned against his arm, one hand wrapped around his waist, and the other hand pressed against his chest, taking advantage of the moment.

"Brother Lu!"

Her voice was urgent and sweet.

"Are you okay?"

Lu Cheng looked down at her.

"Why do I feel like I've been targeted by a nymphomaniac..."

Tang Zhiwei tilted her face up, even managing to squeeze a bit of worry into her eyes.

"What are you saying, Brother Lu?"

"I'm just concerned about you."

The Spirit Fox on the sidelines instantly bristled.

"Ying!!"

Little Spirit Fox: There's a vixen! There's a vixen!!

Although the acting was fake, it fit everyone's psychological expectations.

Logan of the Eagle Country breathed a sigh of relief.

"It seems to be a one-time burst skill, but the effect... is truly terrifying... I hadn't heard of such a person before I came here... and there's no relevant news on the internet either..."

Of course, what they didn't know was that all information regarding Lu Cheng had been completely blocked.

At least, foreign friends wouldn't be able to find it.

...

The camera turned to the Sakura Island representative area.

Jinguji Ayane slowly stood up.

The white and red shrine maiden outfit she wore looked exceptionally clean under the lights, her long hair draped behind her, her brows and eyes cold and clear, holding the Imperial God Blade in her hand; she looked like a painting that had walked out from the depths of a shrine.

And behind her, those six figures in black also stood up simultaneously.

They were almost completely wrapped from head to toe in black ninja gear, with only their eyes exposed.

Without unnecessary movements or words, they were like six shadows.

Jinguji Ayane walked to the center of the team.

The six black-clad ninjas dispersed around her, wrapping her in the very center.

As the countdown lit up, Jinguji Ayane closed her eyes.

She did not draw her blade.

Nor did she prepare to charge like the other teams.

Instead, she lifted her hands gently.

The next second, her body actually slowly floated up.

The white and red shrine maiden outfit spread out gently in the air, like a flower suspended in the center of the battlefield.

A chorus of gasps erupted in the arena.

[She flew up?]

[What kind of ability is this?]

The countdown ended.

One hundred Source Energy Puppets activated simultaneously.

But the moment the puppets charged toward the Sakura Island team, Jinguji Ayane opened her eyes.

Her lips parted slightly, and she began to chant in a low voice.

The sound was not loud.

Yet it seemed to carry a strange, piercing power.

Immediately after, six paper dolls flew out from her sleeves.

The paper dolls fluttered down and stuck to the backs of the six black-clad ninjas.

Hum...

The aura on the six people changed simultaneously.

Behind each of them, different phantoms emerged.

Some looked like white foxes.

Some looked like Tengu.

Some looked like ghost samurai.

Some looked like snake shadows.

Some looked like faceless vengeful spirits.

And behind one black-clad ninja, a gaunt evil spirit holding a long scythe appeared.

The six people vanished from their spots instantly.

The next second, the crystal cores in the chests of several puppets were silently sliced open.

The black-clad ninjas weaved between the puppets, and the phantoms behind them seemed to grant them different combat styles.

The ninja with the Tengu phantom had the lightest figure, almost gliding in mid-air.

The ninja with the ghost samurai phantom swung their blade head-on, forcefully cutting open the shield-armored puppets.

The snake-shadow ninja entangled the puppets' joints, causing their Source Power circuits to briefly malfunction.

But that wasn't the main point.

Jinguji Ayane hovered in mid-air, and a string of Kagura bells suddenly appeared in her hand.

The bells were silver-white, with red and white strings tied to the handle.

She shook them gently.

Ding-a-ling.

A crisp bell sound rang out.

The next second, a black ghost claw emerged from behind her and violently grabbed toward the group of puppets.

A puppet's chest was torn open.

Another bell rang.

A translucent white fox spirit shadow leaped out from her body, opened its mouth, and spat out a ball of ghostly blue flames, engulfing several puppets.

Another bell rang.

Twisted vengeful spirits crawled out from the ground, entangling the legs of over a dozen puppets, allowing the black-clad ninjas to quickly reap them.

On the Sakura Island side, it was more like a bizarre and elegant ritual.

Jinguji Ayane hovered in mid-air.

She held the Kagura bells in one hand and formed a spell seal with the other.

A white talisman array faintly unfolded beneath her feet.

As the bells rang out one after another, she actually began to dance in the center of the battlefield.

The dance steps were not fast.

They could even be called gentle.

Her sleeves fluttered, her long hair lifted slightly, and every step landed on a node of the talisman array.

Yet every time she spun, paper dolls would scatter.

The paper dolls looked extremely fragile, but once they touched a puppet, they would instantly explode.

In the white firelight, the crystal cores in the puppets' chests cracked directly.

Some paper dolls stuck to the puppets' foreheads, causing them to briefly lose control.

Soon.

Ten puppets in the arena were actually controlled by Jinguji Ayane, turning around to attack other puppets.

The ten minutes ended.

The last controlled puppet had its chest crystal core explode to the sound of the bells.

The numbers on the big screen froze.

[Sakura Island Team: 510]

This score was not as good as the Nordic team.

And even less so than the Dragon Nation team.

But no one in the arena underestimated her.

Because everyone could see that this was almost entirely Jinguji Ayane's battle.

The six ninjas were responsible for protection, surprise attacks, and assistance, but the one who truly determined the kill efficiency was her.

Sister Bai also gave her evaluation.

"The final score for the Sakura Island Team is five hundred and ten."

"Although currently ranked third, contestant Jinguji Ayane has shown a very complete comprehensive combat system."

"If this were a real ruin exploration, her crowd control, sealing, summoning, and interference abilities might be far more valuable than the mere kill count."

Jinguji Ayane landed back on the ground.

Her face was slightly pale, but she still maintained the dignity befitting a shrine maiden.

As she left the arena, her gaze inadvertently swept across Lu Cheng.

The last to appear was the Tianlan Ancient Kingdom.

When the seven of them stood up, the atmosphere of the entire venue changed.

Compared to the other teams, the Tianlan Ancient Kingdom was too mysterious.

Sealed for many years.

Missing data, unknown system.

They wore ancient-style robes with silver patterns embroidered on the fabric.

When they walked into the arena, their pace was unhurried, as if they were completely unaffected by the scores of the previous teams.

Lan Jin, who led them, had an indifferent expression, and beside him, Yue Wujiu stepped barefoot on the ground, the silver bells on her ankles ringing softly.

The seven of them stood still.

The countdown had not yet begun.

Lan Jin raised his hand and gently untied the sash of his outer robe.

The next second, the robes of the seven people slid off almost simultaneously.

The pupils of everyone in the arena constricted slightly at this moment.

What they revealed was not ordinary combat gear...

but their bodies.

To be precise, bodies covered in tattoos, with only important areas covered.

Arms, shoulders, chests, backs, waists.

On the surface of each person's body, a large number of patterns of different styles were engraved.

Some looked like ancient beasts.

Some looked like mountains and rivers.

Some looked like star trajectories.

Some looked like burning flames.

Some looked like an open eye.

Within every line, extremely dense Source Power flowed.

They were like living things, slowly lighting up on the surface of their skin.

Boom!

An ancient and heavy aura spread from the seven people simultaneously.

Everyone's pupils constricted...

This kind of combat system was also something they had never seen before, and... it was extremely powerful.

It was as if some kind of ruin power had been directly carved into their flesh.

Using the body as a carrier.

Using tattoos as meridians.

Using Source Power as blood.

The countdown ended.

The puppets activated.

Lan Jin was the first to move.

The black ancient beast tattoo on his shoulder suddenly lit up, and he stepped forward, a blurry phantom of a giant beast actually emerging behind him.

He did not use a weapon.

He just raised his hand and pressed his palm onto the puppet's chest.

Bang!

The puppet's crystal core exploded from the inside.

On the other side, Yue Wujiu tapped the ground lightly with her bare feet.

The silver bells on her ankles rang.

The moon pattern on her waist lit up, and a circle of pale silver ripples instantly appeared on the ground.

Wherever the ripples swept, the puppets' movements slowed down simultaneously.

Yun Qi raised a bronze compass.

The star trajectory pattern on his arm lit up, and the compass needle spun rapidly.

The next moment, several puppet spawn points were marked in advance.

The other members of the Tianlan Ancient Kingdom arrived at the spawn locations almost a step ahead, completing the kills before the puppets had even fully landed.

Their coordination was very bizarre, as if the seven of them shared some kind of ancient rhythm.

Tattoos lit up.

Source Power flowed, and their attack methods were strange and varied.

One person's arm flame tattoo lit up, punching out a wave of crimson fire.

Another person's back mountain pattern emerged, their body instantly becoming as heavy as a mountain, forcefully resisting the puppets' charge.

Another person's chest eye pattern opened, actually causing the puppets to briefly lose their target.

Another person's vine tattoo spread out chains of Source Power, pulling the puppets into an encirclement.

The kill count on the field rose crazily.

[Tianlan Ancient Kingdom: 189]

[Tianlan Ancient Kingdom: 302]

[Tianlan Ancient Kingdom: 471]

The final minute.

The Tianlan Ancient Kingdom's number had already surpassed the Nordic team and was closing in on the Dragon Nation team.

The hearts of the entire audience were in their throats.

[Holy shit, they're going to surpass them!]

[What's the deal with these people?]

[This tattoo system is too outrageous!]

[Is the Dragon Nation going to be overtaken?]

[They're only a few dozen short!]

Lu Cheng also sat up a bit straighter.

Not because he was worried about being surpassed.

But because this system truly interested him.

These people from the Tianlan Ancient Kingdom seemed to have combined the power of the ruins with their physical bodies to a very deep level.

This might even have some reference value for his future Nine Luminaries Meridian.

The final ten seconds.

The ancient beast tattoos all over Lan Jin's body lit up completely, and he shattered three puppets with one palm.

Yue Wujiu's silver bells rang softly, controlling the last area.

Yun Qi turned his compass, and the seven of them rushed toward the last spawn point simultaneously.

Before the countdown hit zero, the crystal cores in the chests of the last two puppets exploded.

The numbers on the big screen froze.

[Tianlan Ancient Kingdom: 628]

The entire arena fell silent for a moment.

Six hundred and twenty-eight.

Just six short.

They would have surpassed the Dragon Nation.

Sister Bai also paused noticeably before continuing.

"The final score for the Tianlan Ancient Kingdom is six hundred and twenty-eight."

"Currently ranked second."

"This team, which has not appeared in public for many years, has demonstrated extremely terrifying comprehensive combat power upon its first appearance."